Issues found before you convert, and why to back up first
When you click Convert, ProperConvert checks the transactions before it writes the file. A wrong file imported into QuickBooks or Quicken can take hours to clean up, and some imports cannot be undone, so it is better to see a problem before the file reaches your accounting software.
Make sure you have the latest ProperConvert: choose Help > Check for updates.
The Issues button
When the check finds something, an Issues (N) button appears above Convert, where N is the number of issues. Click it any time to see each issue with its row number, for example:
Row 12: Warning - Amount is 0
Row 40: Warning - BUY has no securityUse the row number to find the transaction in the grid, correct it there or in your original file, and convert again.
Two kinds of issues
Issues that stop the conversion
Some problems make a file your accounting software refuses or imports wrong. Then Convert shows the list with the message "The file cannot be converted yet" and saves nothing. Correct the issues in your file and open it again.
Today these are the checks for general journal entries, for both QBJ and IIF files:
- an account name is missing, or a part of it (between the colons) is longer than 31 characters;
- a debit or credit amount is negative;
- an entry is not balanced, or its lines have different dates;
- an entry number is longer than 11 characters, or a name longer than 41 characters;
- for QBJ only: the account number or account type is missing or not recognized, the account name and number have a different number of sub-account levels, an account number is longer than 7 characters, or the name type (Vendor, Customer, Employee, Other) is missing or not valid.
Warnings
A warning means the file can be written, but something in it may not be what you expect. Convert shows the list with two buttons:
- Close saves nothing, so you can review the transactions first.
- Convert anyway saves the file as it is.
The warnings are:
| Warning | What it means |
|---|---|
| No date | The transaction has no date. |
| Amount is 0 | The transaction has no amount. A transaction that only moves shares is not reported. |
| Category and tags are longer than N characters; the tags will be left out | QIF only. The category with its tags does not fit the Category limit (40 by default, see QIF output settings). The category is written without the tags. |
| Category is longer than N characters; it will be left out | QIF only. The category alone does not fit the limit, so the transaction is written without a category. |
| BUY has no security, SELL has no shares, ... | Investment accounts only (QIF, QFX, OFX, QBO). A buy, sell, reinvestment or share transfer has no security name, or no number of shares. Quicken cannot place it in your portfolio; in a QFX file it is written as a cash transaction. See importing investment transactions into Quicken. |
| The transactions do not add up to the statement's balances | PDF statements only. The opening balance plus the transactions is not the closing balance printed on the statement: a transaction may be missing, unchecked or read wrong. See checking a PDF statement's balance. |
| The transactions do not add up to the statement's printed total | PDF statements only. The statement prints no balances to check, and its total deposits, withdrawals or checks differ from the transactions of that side: a transaction may be missing, unchecked or read wrong. See checking a PDF statement's balance. |
| Date does not look correct | General journal entries: the date is missing or before 1900. |
ProperConvert never cuts a category or a tag in the middle: what does not fit is left out whole, and the warning tells you so. Quicken itself cuts a category that is too long, without telling you.
Back up before you import
Before the first conversion, ProperConvert reminds you to back up your accounting data. A backup is the only sure way to undo an import that went wrong:
- Quicken for Windows: File > Backup and Restore > Backup Quicken File.
- Quicken for Mac: File > Save a Backup.
- QuickBooks Desktop: File > Back Up Company > Create Local Backup.
- QuickBooks Online has no backup you can restore yourself. Import a short date range first, check it, then import the rest.
The reminder shows once. After you click Convert anyway with Open after save checked, it shows every time, because the file then goes straight into your accounting software.
Converting from the command line
When ProperConvert runs from the command line, the same issues are shown in a message: issues that stop the conversion save nothing, and warnings ask whether to convert anyway.